Trepanation is the procedure of drilling a hole in the skull. It is said to increase the blood circulation and improve pressure inside the skull. It is also said to bring out a person's sixth sense, the ability to use ESP, see ghosts, move objects with one's mind. This is speculative fiction based on the concept of trepanation.

Do not be put off by the twisted sex. This manga has a great premise--guy develops the ability to "see" the suppressed fears of others. Only, they are also his own suppressed fears, because hey, any Buddhist can tell you that everything, even your own personality is an illusion. Can not wait to see where this one goes. Like "Pulp Fiction" this series proves that metaphysics can be fun.

that`s the question this series forces through our brain? we don`t know our selves at all... but still, "who are we?"

see, that`s what this series is doing, messing with our brain, making us wonder: "if that guy is like that, then how am i like"? how is my homunculus like? the question keeps bugging me... the author does a brilliant job at playing with people`s minds... one of my top 10 favorite manga, out of 127 series read so far...

there are some "WTF?" moments scattered throughout the series, like the last volume, but it`s a brilliant series... without further ado, i hope it won`t f*ck up at the end and i give it a 9.3!

P.S: i noticed that there are no chapters, the entire volume is released as a whole... a little bit weird, but i don`t actually care, as long as i have something to read...

I didn't really expect to like it that much, but I read 75 chapters in one sitting.The characters are interesting, along with much of the plot, and it's definitely worth reading.

It wasn't very hard to follow, which was what I expected, (I usually can't get into a manga if it is.) and from all of the comments telling shoujo fans to not read this, I expected things to be much more extreme.I could probably eat with ease while reading, so nothing's too nasty, if that's what anyone's worried about.

All in all, it's a great series, with a demented main character, and it's focus on said main character.I would say it was a fun read, but I'm probably the only one that thinks that.Anyway, give it a try.

I've never really enjoyed the author's other well known manga, Ichi the Killer, because of it's sadistic nature.... But this one really hit the spot.

The protagonist is one of the best male leads ever, in my opinion, and if they ever made a movie/series out of this, they'd have a hard time finding an actor good enough (Sir Anthony Hopkins is too old, and can't speak Japanese).

Like many other psychological type series' , it does risk dragging itself too long, though, but I'll remain optimistic.

I really enjoyed this manga. Very quirky, unique, etc. ^__^ And the premise is quite brilliant. Although, volume one was a little slow but the pacing and plot picks up in the later of the series. Love the art too: it's a big improvement from Ichi where his art style was still developing.

Update: Having read the very latest volumes, I think it deserves 8.5 at best for now and nothing more as I agree with xObscurexOmen's points that Homonculus is brilliant, innovative but a little flawed for now. It remains to be seen how the plot/story will move along. But at least, it's quite an improvement from Ichi the killer where things were quite interesting but fizzled out a little towards the end, for me.

For some reason, I feel drawn to manga that are very dark and deal with very psychological and philosophical themes. This is a prime example of the how this this genre should be written. All of the characters are very well developed and all the themes are well pronounced.

Although the series definitely moves with its own continuity, it actually plays out a series of psychological analysis all intertwined with philosophical themes. Partially fueled by the very flawed main character, the resulting analysis is always dark and unexpected. And as the main character solves the problems of other people, he then starts to realize more about his own problems.

Which gets to the main point of the series. Hes not really solving other people's problems or learning about other people. Its all done as an act of self realization. And the problems of these other people are really projections of his own inner demons. Which leaves the reader not only guessing what each characterization means about that person, but also what it means about the main character.

My only problem is actually that sometimes I thing the series drags itself on a bit too long and over too dark of subjects without real necessity. Which seems to both shock the reader as well as be thought provoking. But, atleast so far, I don't think it has really detracted from the series.

Overall, its a series I'd definitely recommend to people, over and over.